Teen dies after being beaten on New Year's Day

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2900 West 40th Street

2900 West 40th Street (Google map)

Carlos SadoviTribune reporter

A 17-year-old boy was pronounced dead today, after he was dragged out of a car on New Year's Day by two suspected gang members who beat him with a bottle and stole his vehicle in the Brighton Park neighborhood, police said.

The attack happened on Jan. 1 at about 6 a.m. on the 2900 block of West 40th Street, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Daniel O'Brien.

Ezequiel Velasquez, of the 6100 block of South Massasoit Avenue, was driving westbound while with a 21-year-old woman when they stopped on the street after their path was blocked by a Chevrolet Suburban SUV, O'Brien said.

After Velasquez stopped his Chrysler Sebring the men came from the Suburban and asked him if he had gas, said O'Brien. Velasquez replied that he did not, said O'Brien.

At that point, one of the men pulled Velasquez from his car and began beating him over the head with a bottle. The man also smashed the boy's head against a parked car, said O'Brien.

The woman was ordered out of the car but was not injured, said O'Brien.

After beating Velasquez, the men got into the Sebring and used it to push their vehicle out of the road, said O'Brien.

Velasquez's car was later found on the 4200 block of South Campbell Avenue, O'Brien said.

The man was taken in serious condition to Mount Sinai Hospital where he died at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, according to a spokesman.

Initially the attack was classified as an aggravated battery and carjacking, said O'Brien. No one was in custody as Area South detectives investigated.

The suspects are believed to be gang members between the ages of 17 and 20, O'Brien said. Velasquez is believed to have had gang ties, police said.